Capacity development is one of the key themes in the Accra Agenda for Action and both Train4Dev and LenCD have committed to taking this theme forward in a number of ways, including through multi-stakeholder processes. The vast array of knowledge, information and initiatives currently available from multiple sources makes it clear that there is a rapidly changing dynamic around all aspects of CD. Emerging understanding about the need for new approaches to CD is creating diverse needs for learning and change for development actors at all levels. There is also growing recognition that capacity and its development are areas of knowledge, skills and practice in their own right. Within this scenario the spread of knowledge and skills for effective support of CD is very uneven. Many, especially at country level, are struggling to understand what is required of them within the changing paradigm articulated in the Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda for Action.
Thus one of the pressing needs is for a package offering basic knowledge and skills to promote change in CD practice. Such a package should be in a practical and attractive open source format that will encourage take up by multiple stakeholders. The process would tap into many players including bilateral agencies, African case studies, multilaterals and UN Agencies. Steps to initiate the development of a package were started by LenCD, in collaboration with WBI, with a Scoping Study completed in June 2010. The purpose of this concept note is to raise awareness and attract the commitments of support necessary to move the process forward.
